For those who like to crochet loosely – this project is for you – since it is tapestry crocheted with a large hook and loose stitches.

Detail of the handle before it was felted.

The beauty of felted tapestry crochet is that the pattern is visible on the both the inside and the outside of the project. The two carried colors really bulk up the felted fabric, so no lining is needed. The tote shrinks and felts like magic in a washing machine. It is important to make the stitches loose, though, or it will not felt correctly. The flattened size of the tote before felting was 18” wide x 16” high (without the handles). The flattened size after felting the first time was 15” wide x 16” high, then after felting it again (to shrink it a little more), it was 13” wide x 14 1/2” high flattened and 12” wide x 13” high upright as seen below.